In the process of shipping an item from one location to another, protective packaging material is often placed in the shipping container to fill any voids and/or to cushion the item during the shipping process. Some commonly used protective packaging materials are plastic foam peanuts and plastic bubble pack. While these conventional plastic materials seem to perform adequately as cushioning products, they are not without disadvantages. Perhaps the most serious drawback of plastic bubble wrap and plastic foam peanuts is their effect on our environment. Quite simply, these plastic packaging materials are not biodegradable, and therefore they cannot avoid further multiplying our planet's already critical waste disposal problems. The nonbiodegradability of these packaging materials has become increasingly important in light of many industries adopting more progressive policies in terms of environmental responsibility.
The foregoing and other disadvantages of conventional plastic packaging materials have made paper protective packaging material a popular alternative. Paper is biodegradable, recyclable and composed of a renewable resource, making it an environmentally responsible choice for conscientious shippers.
While paper in sheet form could possibly be used as a protective packaging material, it is usually preferable to convert the sheets of paper into a relatively low density pad-like cushioning or dunnage product. This conversion may be accomplished by a cushioning conversion machine, such as that disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,889. The conversion machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,889 converts sheet-like stock material, such as paper in multi-ply form, into relatively low density pads. Specifically, the machine converts this stock material into a continuous unconnected strip having lateral pillow-like portions separated by a thin central band. This strip is connected as by coining along its central band to form a coined strip which is cut into sections, or pads, of a desired length. The stock material preferably consists of three superimposed webs or layers of biodegradable, recyclable and reusable thirty-pound Kraft paper rolled onto a hollow cylindrical tube to form a stock roll.
The several embodiments of machines shown in the aforesaid patent and other commonly assigned patents and applications have achieved considerable commercial success. Nevertheless, environmental and other concerns generally create a continuing need for further improvements in such machines. Also, there appears to be a specific need for a machine which can be economically used to produce a heavier pad than which could otherwise be produced by such earlier machines. Additionally or alternatively, a specific need exists for a machine that can handle the rigors associated with converting a heavier grade sheet stock material that may be used for constructing such a pad, as well as improvements more generally providing for improved performance, lower cost, easier maintenance and repair, etc.